Railway switch mechanism



(No Model.)-

W. J. WARD. RAILWAYFSWITGH MECHANISM.

Patented May 30, 1893 INVENTOH w/r/vEssEs:

A TTORNE YS.

.Tn: uomus PL'YERS co, PHOYO-LITHO, WASNINGTON, n. a

TATES Prion.

RAILWAY SWITCH MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,337, dated May 30, 1893.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. WARD, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway SwitchMechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway switch mechanism, the main object of the invention being to provide improved mechanism whereby a switch rail or tongue can be moved when desired by an arm or device projecting down from a car traveling along the track, and the invention consists in the several combinations hereinafter more fully described and set forth in the claims, for accomplishing said object.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the mechanism. Figs. .2 and 3 are plan views of the mechanism in the roadbed in two. different positions, and Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, lookingin the direction of the arrow.

a is one of the rails of a street railway or other track, and b is a rail of abranch track.

0 is a casting forming a bed for the switch rail or tongue d, which is pivoted at e, and which has a pin or extension f, extending down through a slot 9 in the casting c, as indicated in Fig. 2, said slot being so arranged that the switch tongue can move to its position in linewith the straight rail as indicated in Fig. 3, or to its opposite position, to direct the car on the track to the branch, as indicated in Fig. 2.

h is a suitable box below the rails and switch bed in which is pivoted a levert'on a bearing j.

is a link connecting one end of said pivoted lever with the pin or projection f.

Z is a wheel or body adapted to rotate on a suitable bearing m and having several teeth or projections n 0, alternately long and short. All of these teeth are long enough to project into or across the path of an arm 13, carried by the car qadapted to travel along the track, and which. arm is preferably normally pulled up by spring 7, but which maybe pressed down into the position shown in Fig. 1 by the foot of an operator on the foot piece 8. At one side of the bed or casting and the rail to is placed abodyt having alongitudinal groove uinto which said arm 19 can extend and travel.

Application filed March 6, 1893- Serial No.464,767. (No model.)

The armsn, o extend one after the other across said groove in the manner indicated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The long teeth of the wheell are sufticiently long to strike the end of link It at '1) when the wheel is turned, moving the switch tongue and lever z from the position of Fig. 3 to the position of Fig. 2, and also, by a subsequent movement, striking the end of lever i at the left of its pivot, thereby moving the switch tongue in the opposite direction. The shorter teeth, however, of the wheel, while long enough to extend into the groove u to be struck by the arm 3, are not long enough to strike the point e and the lever 2'.

4.0 is a cover, which can be removed to give access to the lever 11.

The operation of the device described is as follows: Supposing the switch tongue to bein the position shown in Fig. 2, and a car to be moving on the track fromleft to right- -if the car is to turn 'onto the branch the switch operatingarm p is not depressed, since the switch tongue is already in the desired position, but if the car is to remain on the straight track the arm 19 is depressed so that it will enter into the groove 16, and as it moves along will turn the wheel Z, causing one of its long arms nto strike thelever i, moving the switch tongue cl to the position shown in Fig. 3. When the wheel Z has made a movement of ninety degrees the arm 19 passes the teeth on which it is operating, the incline w, pressing up the arm 10, and the foot of the operator, unless the latter has previously removed his foot, leaving the apparatus in condition for a subsequent use. The next car which comes along will have itsarm 10, depressed or not, according to the track on which it is to travel.

The main feature of the improvement, it Will be seen from the above description, resides in the rotatable wheel Z and accompanying device'for opening and then closing a switch by successive movements, as described. Evidently the formof the wheel, and of the lever i, can be changed considerably without departing from my invention, and in some cases the link It will not be essential.

What I claim is 1. The combination, with a switch tongue adapted to be used in connection with the rails of a street-railway, or other track, of a toothed wheel or body supported on asuitable bearing, alternate teeth on said wheel being respectively long and short, a part connected to said switch tongue, against which the long teeth of the wheel are adapted to strike in succession as the wheel is turned, step by step, to move the switch tongue in one direction, and a pivoted lever 11 also connected to the switch tongue against which the same long teeth are adapted to strike on alternate movements of the wheel to reset the tongue to its original position, the short teeth of the wheel being too short to reach the part connected to the switch rail and said pivoted lever, but

crating arm, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a switch tongue, a wheel Z having long teeth n, and shorter alternating teeth 0, the pivoted lever i,and the link 70 connecting said lever with the switch tongue, the long teeth, when the wheel or body is moved being adapted to strike a part connected to the switch tongue to move it in one direction, and by a subsequent movement striking the pivoted lever on the opposite side of its pivot from the link It, to move 7 the switch back, substantially as described.

WILLIAM J. WARD.

Witnesses:

CHARLES M. CATLIN, J AMES L. SUYDAM. 

